Tariff turmoil
Quite a night on financial markets, with the S&P 500 down nearly -5 per cent, and the NASDAQ down another -6 per cent.
Markets are now pricing in 4 interest rate cuts in the US, and if Trump continues down the current path, then there's clearly a significant chance of a recession.
But the truth is, nobody really knows how things will pan out from here.
There's also more than 110 basis points of monetary easing priced in for Australia, with oil prices plunging -7 per cent overnight (lower fuel prices ahead will be most welcome!).
Assuming the next quarterly inflation figures behave themselves, interest rates will most likely be on their way down further from next month, at the May meeting.
I'm not sure why we still have a record 3 percentage points lending assessment buffer for mortgages in such an environment, but it's still in place.
The Aussie ASX 200 stock index has been treated a bit more kindly than some other overseas markets, and is trading down -6 per cent year-to-date.
Mortgage rates are set to fall into a housing shortage - in my opinion, locking in solid housing price gains over the next couple of years.
Australia's 3-year bond yield fell another 11 basis points to 3.45 per cent, down from 4.33 per cent as recently as October.
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